Let’s enjoy the vendys! But first let me take a selfie. Thanks for taking this picture mom!
Recently on Saturday June 14th, I was lucky enough to attend the Vendy Awards in Philly with my mom Jersey Girl Cooks and my dad. The Vendy Awards took place at Penn Treaty Park in Philadelphia which is right near the Sugar House Casino and is overlooking the Delaware River. The park has a very pretty view and is very cute, making it a great setting for this wonderful event. Basically, the event is a competition for street vendors in the area, where once you buy a ticket you get to taste food from all the different trucks and then you vote for your favorites in different categories. The categories this year were the People’s choice, Rookie of the Year, and Dessert. There was also the Vendy Cup which is decided by the judges, not the voters. The contenders for the Vendy Cup are the same contenders for People’s choice. Up for the Vendy Cup was The Cow and the Curd which is fried cheese curds, Local 215 which is locally sourced comfort food, Samosa Deb which is samosas and other Indian food, and the Pie Stand which has both savory and sweet fried pies. In this category my personal favorites were the Cow and the Curd and Local 215. The fried cheese curds from The Cow and The Curd are no ordinary pieces of fried cheese. They are the stringiest pieces of cheese with a light and fluffy coating served with a delicious and tangy tomato jam. The Cow and the Curd won People’s Choice. The Cow and the Curd was also home to one of the longest lines, but the wait was definitely worth it for the big plate of fried cheese curds and fries you receive at the end. By the way, that hard cider is not mine, it is my moms. No underaged drinking for me!
I also loved the delicious Pork Mac and the Pork Fritter from Local 215. The Pork Mac was not your ordinary macaroni and cheese. It had delicious mac and cheese but then to make it even better, it contained tender and flavorful pork with potato chips on top to add a salty crunch and a nice texture change. The Pork Fritter was very good and crunchy on the outside, but not too fried where it was burnt.
Also from the People’s Choice and Vendy Cup category were Samosa Deb and The Pie Stand. Samosa Deb had delicious vegetable samosas and a very good spicy chicken served on rice. The winner of the Vendy Cup was the Pie Stand, but unfortunately that is the one of the few trucks I did not get to sample. However, hopefully one day when I am in Philly I will be able to try a fried pie.
The next category is Rookie of the Year. My personal favorite for Rookie of the Year was Oink & Moo BBQ Philly which also happened to win. Oink & Moo had great sliders in pork or beef(oink or moo) and also had a great chicken taco. One interesting thing about Oink & Moo is that they actually smoke their meat right on their truck.
Other contenders for the Rookie of the Year were The HEART Food Truck which had a delicious chilled strawberry soup and escargot. I thought the escargot was really awesome because that seems like a fancy dish to be prepared on a truck! Another contender was Smokin’ Tacos. That and the pie stand are the only trucks I missed. The last Rookie of the Year contender was the Whirly Pig. There I had a chilled avocado cucumber soup which was good but I preferred the Pork Cheek I had there. It was cooked perfectly and served over some delicious potatoes that had goat cheese mixed in. The cheek had a sauce that was slightly sweet which really complimented the meat and the potatoes.
Lastly, there was the dessert category. The dessert category had the Bonjour Creperie, the Curbside Creamery, Jimmies Cupcake Co, and Milk+Sugar. The winner of this category was the Bonjour Creperie. Although the Bonjour Creperie only served dessert crepes at the event, this truck usually sells both sweet and savory crepes. There was crepe with strawberries and Nutella which I personally loved as a huge shipper of the Strawberry and Nutella marriage. There was also a smores crepe which was also popular. Personally, my favorite dessert truck was the Curbside Creamery. The Curbside Creamery is an ice-cream truck taken to a whole new level. The ice-cream is some of the best I had and made right in Lancaster county. Then, they actually make their waffle cones themselves which are very delicious. The ice-cream flavor I enjoyed was the black raspberry which was very delicious and sweet, but not too sweet. It was smooth, creamy, and great for a hot summer day. This gourmet ice-cream beats any basic neighborhood ice-cream truck.
From Jimmies Cupcake Co. instead of having a cupcake as one might imagine I instead had a frozen treat- an ice-cream sandwich! This was not your usual two chocolate cookies and some vanilla ice-cream sandwich. Instead it combined ice-cream, a brownie, and caramel. It was amazing! The last dessert truck was Milk+Sugar. Here I had a pink moscato cake with a strawberry cream cheese frosting. I am a huge fan of cream cheese frosting so I loved that and the cake was also nice and moist. One of their most popular treats seemed to be the Kitchen Sink Cookie as they ran out of that.
A picture I actually took!
All in all, going to the Vendy awards was a super fun time! The atmosphere was great, the weather was beautiful, and the food was delicious. Waiting in lines really wasn’t a pain because not only did the lines go fast but you got to meet people who were into food as much as you! I definitely plan to go next year!
Looks like a festival!
To see another post on the Vendy Awards go check out my mom’s post on Jersey Girl Cooks! Just click here!
Glitter Girl 